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HB 1644 · 2026 · House · Education Policy and Administration Committee

Cooperative school district withdrawal rules

AI-generated

permitting towns to unilaterally withdraw from a cooperative school district.

Permits a single district or town within a cooperative school district to initiate withdrawal proceedings, removes the committee determination step, and eliminates the supermajority vote that could block withdrawal.AI-generated

Status

Referred to interim study (House) · March 11, 2026
  1. ✓Introduced
  2. ✕House
  3. Senate
  4. Governor
  5. Law

Analysis

This bill: I. Permits a single district or town within a cooperative school district to initiate the procedure for review for withdrawal from the cooperative school district. II. Amends the current procedure for review by removing the step for committee determination of the withdrawal plan. III. Removes the ability of a 3/5 supermajority of voters in the entire cooperative school district from preventing a single district or town's withdrawal.

From the bill's official ANALYSIS section.

Official record

Bill page — docket & status

gc.nh.gov · the authoritative source

Sponsors

Rep. Dan McGuireRPrimeVice Chair· Finance
  • Rep. Walter SpilsburyRVice Chair· Education Funding
  • Sen. Ruth WardRChair· Education

Also: Rep. Donald McFarlaneR, Rep. Mary MurphyR

Public testimony

186 signed in online · 23 wrote testimony

4% support96% oppose1% neutral

In their wordsVerbatim, exactly as submitted

“This bill is harmful to cooperative school districts, their students, teachers, funding, and educational standards.…”
— Victoria Flaherty, Bedfordopposes
“This bill would interfere with a school district's ability to fully fund these schools and raise property taxes on those schools remaining.”
— Christine Hodsdon, EXETERopposes
“This bill could significantly disrupt school district budgets and raise property taxes on those in cooperative school districts”
— Lisa Ferrigno, Newportopposes
“I appreciate the opportunity to submit testimony on HB 1644. This bill offers a clearer and more direct process for individual towns to initiate review of withdrawal from a cooperative school district.…”
— Timothy Swaan, N. Haverhillneutral

Verbatim excerpts of submitted testimony, quoted from the testimony tool.

Read the testimony · as of Aug 12, 2026

Hearings

  • 2026-02-0910:00 amHouse Education Policy and AdministrationGP 232Public hearing
  • 2026-03-029:30 amHouse Education Policy and AdministrationGP 232Public hearing

Legislative history

  1. Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Education Policy and Administration HJ 1 P. 29
  2. Feb 9, 2026HousePublic Hearing: 02/09/2026 11:00 am GP 232
  3. Mar 2, 2026HouseExecutive Session: 03/02/2026 09:30 am GP 232
  4. Mar 2, 2026House: Refer for Interim Study 03/02/2026 (Vote 15-3; CC) HC 10 P. 13
  5. Mar 11, 2026HouseRefer for Interim Study: MA VV 03/11/2026 HJ 7 P. 20

Coverage

No reporting linked yet.

Documents (PDF)

Bill text & amendments link direct to gc.nh.gov; committee reports stream from the state record.